Degeneration of neuronal processes in rats induced by a protease inhibitor, leupeptin.

Severe degeneration of neuronal processes, including axons and dendrites, as well as accumulation of lipofuscin-like dense bodies have been induced in rats by continuous intraventricular administration by infusion of a protase inhibitor, leupeptin. The aggregation of degenerated processes in neuropils mingled with glial cells and their processes resembled the aggregation of degenerated neurites that are important constituents of the senile plaque of Alzheimer's disease. The present findings provide morphological evidence supporting the hypothesis that protease inhibitors participate in the process of senile plaque formation.